seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 11:38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.
Take away the stone: Everybody thought this was a strange thing for Jesus to ask. After all, Martha knew Lord, by this time he stinketh (King James Version). People probably thought that Jesus was so taken with grief that He wanted one last look at His dear friend Lazarus.
By this time there is a stench: In any case, the condition of the body was an irrefutable confirmation of Lazarus’ death.
If you would believe you would see the glory of God: Jesus was fully capable of this miracle without the faith of Martha or Mary. But if they would not believe, then they would never see the glory of God. They could see the end result and be happy in that, but they would miss the glory of working together with God in the fulfillment of His plan.
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying: This was a definite and remarkable step of faith. Jesus compelled Martha and Mary to act on their faith and they did by obeying Jesus and His unusual request.
Jesus lifted up His eyes and said: Jesus likely had the traditional posture of prayer — hands raised, eyes open upwards as if looking towards heaven.
Father, I thank You that You have heard Me: Jesus was confident in His relationship with God the Father. The public nature of the prayer was for the sake of Mary, Martha, and the people who are standing by. The power of the prayer was rooted in the private prayer times of Jesus.
He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” Jesus simply called Lazarus out of the tomb. Others whom God used to raise dead bodies in the Scriptures often used far more elaborate procedures.
And he who had died came out: Jesus fought death at Lazarus’ tomb, and plundered the grave. Jesus told death the He would soon completely conquer it completely.
His face was wrapped with a cloth: Lazarus was not resurrected, but resuscitated. He arose bound in grave-clothes, for he would need them again; Jesus left His grave-clothes behind in His tomb, never again having need of them.
“How he moved I do not know. Some of the old writers thought that he glided, as it were, through the air, and that this was part of the miracle. I think he may have been so bound that though he could not freely walk yet he could shuffle along like a man in a sack.” (Spurgeon)
Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go”: Jesus did not miraculously remove the grave-clothes from Lazarus, but He asked attendants to do so. Jesus did what only God could do, and then He looked for man’s cooperation for the completion of Lazarus’ deliverance.
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Do you think Lazarus floated out of the tomb? He was bound head to toe because he was dead and entombed. The commentary says he is reported to have glided or floated. Is that the way a dead man, bound in burial cloth would "come out"?
The commentary also says that Jesus didn't just miraculously remove the burial cloth from Lazarus. He had the people who were witnesses do it.
That's smart. It's one thing to witness a miracle... It's quite another to be part of the miracle!
The commentary says that Jesus did it to get human cooperation. The commentary also says that Lazarus was not resurrected. It says Lazarus was resuscitated.
According to the commentary, Lazarus would die again but for now, Lazarus needed to be free of the burial cloth that was keeping him from walking and hugging.
Here's my question this morning.... Would Lazarus die again?
I think Lazarus has to make a decision here. Was Lazarus put on earth as a human experiment, to test the toll of four days in the tomb on the human body? Was Lazarus embalmed?
People are opinionated about "eternal life".
Some think "eternal life" is pre-destined "by God" from the time God sculpts a human. God chooses which type of human the sculpture will be and that's what the human will be. After all, Jesus did know that some humans were just never going to Believe no matter what, while others would Believe right away.
Some clobber us with "free will" talk. Preachers have preached many a sermon on how God has given us "free will" and we have to exercise that "free will" carefully. So how would Jesus know who would choose "eternal life" and who would just thumb their nose at the notion?
I think God knows because God controls time and He will know when a human makes that decision. God can look forward in time, since He controls it, and He can scan through and find the nano-second of decision. God knows because He can see the future.
I think God knows who will use their "free will" to become a Child of God, not because He's powerful enough to make the decision for us, but because He can feel the "desire" from the nano-second the "clay" gets picked by the potter.
Did God choose Lazarus to "resuscitate" or did Lazarus make a personal Profession of Faith to Jesus Himself before all this happened?
Mary and Martha knew about the Resurrection. Wouldn't Lazarus have known? Did these three become Adopted Children of God before Jesus got on the Cross? Could they do that? Were they too early? Well, what about all those Believers who followed Jesus everywhere? Weren't they professing their faith? Wouldn't they experience "eternal life"?
I don't think they were too early. I think they used their "free will" and Jesus would pay the bill when He went to the Cross.
As for me... well, He had been to the Cross by the time I used my "free will". He paid mine in advance.
So, the commentary says Lazarus died again. Really? Lazarus must have heard the call, right? Lazarus came out of the tomb when Jesus called.
Would Lazarus die again?
